Name: Easy French Toast Casserole
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 415 min
Ingredients: 16 slices 1 small loaf dried crusty bread of choice; 6 eggs; 2 cups milk (473 ml); ½ cup heavy cream (118 ml); ½ cup sugar (100 g); 3 teaspoons vanilla extract (15 ml); ¾ cup mix-ins of choice (optional); 1 tsp cinnamon (5 ml); 2 Tbsp sugar (30 ml)

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This easy dreamy French toast casserole is extra rich and luscious. This decadent breakfast tastes like you have worked away in the kitchen for hours. When really, it’s pure simplicity!

French toast is a classic breakfast that’s always a hit. Soft, warmly spiced, and pan fried to golden perfection. Easy French toast casserole is, dare I say, better. Plus, is is quite a bit easier!

What is a French toast Casserole?

This delicious brunch or breakfast treat is very similar to strata or bread pudding. Made up of bread soaked in a delicious egg custard. Add fun mix-ins like berries, spices, or chocolate! Experiment with the type of bread, to make this versatile breakfast casserole recipe your own!

Make Ahead French Toast Casserole

The best and easiest way to make this easy French toast casserole is to make it the night before. That way when you get up in the morning all you need to do is pop it in the oven, for the perfect warm hardy breakfast with almost no effort on your part!

Since, French toast casserole is make ahead, it is the perfect choice for family events when you want something special but don’t want to spend the whole morning in the kitchen. For this reason, it is a go-to recipe for Christmas breakfast or Easter brunch. (Especially with left over hot cross buns!)

A casserole in a red dish. There is a serving of the casserole in a yellow floral plate with berries and syrup on top.

What bread to use for French toast casserole

The type of bread used to make French toast casserole is important. This isn’t the time when you want to throw just any grocery store sandwich bread in there. The key to a perfect French toast casserole is making sure you have a relatively dry bread.

The bread needs to be able to soak up all the liquid from the egg custard. So, actually, day old bread, that has started to dry out, is the perfect choice! Making this one of my favourite ways to use up any of the bread I have that has started to go stale!

Since the bread makes up the bulk of this recipe, it is fun to experiment with different types and flavours of bread. Crusty sourdough and French baguettes are always a classic choice to make this casserole.

Experiment with types of bread that might be starting to go stale like, hot cross buns, Croissants, brioche, or cinnamon rolls! These will add a beautiful depth of flavour and texture to the normal recipe!

A woman is pouring syrup onto a plate of breakfast casserole with berries on top.

French toast casserole alternatives and mix-ins

If you only have plain white bread but want to make your casserole a little something special, try adding some mix-ins! These are some of my favourites!

Apples – Chop your apples into small chunks. They will soften and mix their sweet flavour throughout the dish.
Blueberries – I love the flavour of cooked blueberries! Not only will this add delicious flavour but the beautiful dots of intense blue throughout makes it a lovely presentation.
Banana – Either mashed and added to the liquid before hand or sliced fresh and served on top the warm fresh French toast casserole. This is a classic breakfast pairing!
Berry purée – Take any fresh or frozen berry and allow it to cook down on the stove with a little bit of sugar. Mash or purée the mixture. Serve warm drizzled over top the freshly baked casserole.
Chocolate chips – Perhaps the favourite amongst children. Adding little dots of melty chocolate throughout this meal will make a super special breakfast!
Dried Fruit – Raisins are usually my go-to for this, but any dried fruit you can get your hands on would be great! Since, the casserole soaks overnight, this gives a chance for the dried fruit to soak in the liquid and plump up as well.

Sugar Substitutions

If you are trying to get away from white sugar and make some healthier swaps, this is a great recipe to use! To swap out the sugar in this recipe try one of these alternatives!

A sugar conversion chart one column is green and one is pink

A close up of the top of a casserole with bread inside.

Can you freeze French toast casserole

Absolutely! You can make this casserole ahead of time and freeze either baked or unbaked.

Freezing the baked version will be a little dryer as you will need to heat it twice.

To freeze an unbaked French toast casserole

Cover the casserole completely with plastic wrap or store the mixture in a freezer bag or airtight container.
Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
When ready for use, let it defrost enough to place in a casserole dish.
Bake as you would a fresh casserole.

To freeze a baked French toast casserole

Allow the casserole to cool to room temperature.
Cover completely with plastic wrap or store in an airtight container.
Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Reheating

Cover with tin foil. This will keep in as much moisture as possible and will prevent the tops of the bread from over baking.
Bake in a preheated 325 ºF (160 ºC) oven for 20 minutes or until the centre is heated through.

An over head view of a bread casserole. There is a portion on a yellow floral plate with berries and syrup on top.

No more SOGGY French Toast Casserole

A common problem when making French toast casserole, Strata, and bread pudding is the dreaded SOGGY BOTTOM!

To prevent your French toast Casserole from suffering this fate

Choose the right type of bread. We are going for dried out thick chunks of bread. You can dry out bread by cutting or ripping it into smaller pieces the day before. If you are in a time crunch, place the bread on a tray in a low oven until it has dried. Even better, use bread that has started to go a little stale. That was the purpose of French toast in the first place!
Not cooking the casserole long enough. The egg custard may not be fully cooked yet. Try keeping the casserole in the oven for another few minutes. This will help solidify a partially baked filling.
Too many juicy add-ins. Adding a lot of delicious fruit to your casserole adds excess moisture to your casserole. Keep this in mind before baking. You may need to reduce the milk or reduce the amount of fruit that will give off a lot of juice. You can always add it on after, in the form of fruit purée or fresh fruit on top!

Ingredients for French Toast Casserole

16 slices (1 small loaf) dried crusty bread of choice

6 eggs

2 cups milk 473 ml

½ cup heavy cream 118 ml

½ cup sugar 100 g

3 teaspoons vanilla extract 15 ml

¾ cup mix-ins of choice (optional)

topping

2 Tablespoons sugar 30 ml

1 teaspoon cinnamon 5 ml

Method

Rip or cut the bread into cubes.
Grease an ovenproof casserole dish and arrange the bread inside.
Sprinkle any mix-ins on top of the bread.
In a medium bowl, whisk the milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla.
Pour this evenly over the bread.

Woman stirring a light yellow liquid inside of a glass measuring cup.

Woman pouring a glass measuring cup with a yellow liquid into a red casserole dish with chunks of bread inside.

6. Cover and place in the refrigerator overnight, or at least 6 hours. (This will allow the bread to soak up all of the liquid.)

7. Gently stir the mixture after a few hours to make sure all the bread is soaking up the moisture.

8. In the morning, preheat the oven to 350 ºF (180 ºC).

9. Mix the cinnamon sugar topping in a small bowl.

10. Dust this evenly overtop of the casserole.

11. Bake uncovered 45-50 minutes or until golden and the egg custard is set. If you see the top getting too dark, loosely place a piece of tin foil on top.

12. Remove and let stand 10 minutes.

13. Serve warm with maple syrup and fresh fruit!